How far away from artificial light do you need to get to experience the night sky without light polution?
Twice this week I stumbled upon an article mentioning phenemenons visible with the naked eye if no artificial light is near by. The first was a series of meteorites, the second a photo experiment on how the night sky would look without artificial light.
The question is how far I need to travel away from a well lit city or road to experience such beautiful skys?
Best Answer
Answer isn't clear cut. A lot depends on atmospheric conditions, as well as geography and the direction you're looking.
If there's cloud cover, those city lights can be seen a long way away indeed, it can make the clouds over the place glow (ever more yellow or orange because of the sodium lights used for streetlighting in ever more cities).
If the city is on a hilltop between you and where you're looking at, it's also going to be much more visible then if it were in a depression in the terrain and hidden from direct view.
And a city close by can influence your view even when looking away from it (especially if there's some thin clouds...).
As stated in the comments, size of the city matters a lot. As does the level of technology and prosperity.
Seoul or Tokyo are going to cause a lot more light pollution than do Pyong Yang or Harrare for example.
And don't forget that nice area of greenhouses on the edge of town, they're like beacons in the night. Same with the prison, and the oil refinery with its floodlights on the security perimiter.
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How far away can you see light pollution?
Strong local sources of light pollution can degrade your night sky even more than more distant urban areas can. Some skyglow is surprisingly local. You can often see more stars 15 miles from a big city than a quarter mile from even one bad rural shopping center.How far away from a city do you have to be to avoid light pollution?
For observing faint stars and meteors, the darker the sky, the better. The amount of skyglow from light pollution diminishes as you venture farther outward from a population center. So heading outward from town, at least 20 to 30 miles from the city limits, is key.Can you do stargazing if there is light pollution?
The glow of the sun, during the day, makes it difficult to find Venus, and impossible to see the other stars. Skyglow from light pollution makes it more difficult to see many of the background stars that add to the rich joy of stargazing. The most experienced astronomers can work around light pollution.How long would it take to get rid of light pollution?
"Scientists estimate that in about 10 years, America will have only three dark patches of land where people will be able to clearly see the Milky Way," wrote Megan Finnerty in a fascinating recent feature for the Arizona Republic.Where Are the Stars? See How Light Pollution Affects Night Skies | Short Film Showcase
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: ArtHouse Studio, Dylan Chan, Erik Mclean, Maria Varshavskaya